Lajpat Nagar blast: Court transfers case

A Delhi court today allowed the plea by the accused in 1996 Lajpat Nagar blast case and transferred the matter to a judge who had completed hearing arguments last year.

District and Sessions Judge G P Mittal put the matter for further proceedings for September seven in the court of Additional Sessions Judge SP Garg. Anwar Khan, counsel representing the accused, submitted that Garg had conducted the trial in the matter and had almost completed hearing arguments in June 2008 when he was transferred as a special CBI Judge.

The matter was later heard by ASJ M K Nagpal, who had heard the 13-year-old case for quite some time, before he was transferred. Another Sessions Judge Chandra Gupta succeeded him, he submitted.

The prosecution, which was issued a notice on August 27 on the plea by the accused, submitted that Nagpal had still not concluded hearing the arguments and so there was no harm if the matter was transferred to another sessions judge.

As many as 10 people, including a woman, all hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, are facing trial for allegedly carrying out the blast at crowded Central Market in Lajpat Nagar in south Delhi on the evening of May 21, 1996. Thirteen people lost their lives in the blast in which 39 others were injured and 14 buildings destroyed.

Those facing trial for various charges, including criminal conspiracy and murder, are Farooq Ahmed Khan, Mohd Naushad, Mirza Iftikhar, Mohd Ali Bhat, Mirza Nissar Hussain, Latif Ahmed Waza, Syed Maqbool Shah, Javed Ahmed Khan and Abdul Gani and their woman associate Farida Dar.

The court, which recently wrapped up recording of statements of five more witnesses, has already concluded hearing final arguments in the case. Concluding the final arguments, the 10 suspected Kashmiri militants had alleged frame-up in the case. All accused, except their woman accomplice, are in judicial custody in the case.